


Under My Heart

by Taelr



Series: Ribs [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek is so far from oblivious but he's not very quick to understand either, Fluff and more fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Some angst?, Soulmates, but not a lot I promise, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 04:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3556856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taelr/pseuds/Taelr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has a name tattooed across their ribs on the left side of their chest, under their heart; their soulmate. Derek has had the word "Przemysław" tattooed there since he was born, and he can't even pronounce it. But that's never bothered him, because you’re supposed to be able to tell the moment you meet your soulmate, even without knowing their name. He's been increasingly anxious and energetic, but all of that disappears and he's never felt more calm than when he meets a stranger while out for a run one day. Everything changes, Derek isn't so jealous of his sisters anymore, his mom has absolutely been right all along, and he's never loved his own name more than when he hears it on his soulmate's lips.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Part two of a two-part series. You can read them together or apart and it doesn't matter if you read them in order or out of order or only read one. I know this is short but it's one of those things I didn't feel like expanding into something long and I guess it feels nice as long as it is now. I'm my own beta so any and all mistakes are mine. Feel free to let me know if you see any!

Derek didn’t realize he was any different than anyone else until he got into middle school. A place where everyone – including him – now had the ability to read and write with relative ease. A place where everyone went around asking, “What’s your soulmate’s name?” because they were all excited. And Derek, well, Derek didn’t know. He knew he had a name on his ribs, knew that the dark, neat letters scrawled across his skin meant something wonderful, _someone_ wonderful. But he’d never been bothered to actually read them or try and pronounce them until someone asked him at school. Up until that point he’d spoken to his parents about soulmates, learned as much about them as was fit for a kid his age to know, and just accepted the fact that his soulmate was a collection of letters, a single word with some delightfully odd characters on his skin. His soulmate didn’t have a name in his own head because they didn’t need one. Until suddenly they did. And Derek was sent home because he’d started panicking and couldn’t calm down.

When his mom came to pick him up she looked angry, but not at him. It seemed to bother her that the other children had upset Derek’s peaceful acceptance of the name on his skin, even though she didn’t say as much. The drive home was quiet, until they were on the preserve and she stopped on the side of the road instead of continuing to the house. Derek didn’t want to say anything, but his mother didn’t pressure him to. And eventually it all just came spilling out. He was perturbed; in all his life it had never occurred to him to worry over what his soulmate’s name was, because he’d believed that they would find each other and everything would be okay. But suddenly fear had seized him, because how was he supposed to meet his soulmate and know that’s what they were if he didn’t even know what their name was supposed to be?

His mom let him talk for as long as he needed – looking back he doesn’t even know how long he sat there, babbling and crying and feeling desperate – and then, instead of telling him that it was okay or putting his fears to rest, she asked him a question. _Why didn’t this bother you before?_

It caught him off guard, and it was enough to stop the sniffling and the tears and get him really thinking about it. And once he knew the answer it was hard to put into words, but he managed. _Because it didn’t matter. It was enough that my soulmate existed and was going to be mine at all._ He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction to expect, but the smile his mother gave him and the reassuring squeeze of her hand on his shoulder were plenty to get him crying again. This time, though, it was with relief instead of panic.

It wasn’t until Derek was a freshman in high school that it really hit him that his soulmate would be male. It didn’t bother him, wasn’t like he’d never thought about it before, but after hours of studying the name on his ribs, of writing it out in his own messy hand, of trying to pronounce it time and again, he came to the conclusion that it didn’t sound like a girl’s name. Didn’t even look like a girl’s name. And maybe it was a girl’s name. Maybe he was wrong. But something in his gut told him otherwise, so he just accepted it.

High school was also the time when he realized how neutral and accepting he’d always been about the whole thing. Other kids dreamed up very specific soulmates in their heads, and he couldn’t blame them; most of them had names like _Sarah_ or _Chad_ on their skin, names easy enough to pronounce, names that were generally one gender. Some of them had names  like _Tyler_ and _Jamie_ , which could really go either way. But everyone expected their soulmate to be something or other; a girl, a boy, blonde or brunette, or short or tall. Derek just expected his soulmate to be _his_. That was all. He didn’t care what they looked like or who they were when they met him, he just knew he would love them. And he hoped they loved him, too.

And that was kind of the start of everything.

His older sister finds her soulmate at Derek’s high school graduation, and it’s cool because Laura didn’t even planning on attending until Derek begged her to. A year later his little sister finds hers, and it’s totally different because Cora is a freshman in _high school_ , for Christ’s sake, she’s so _young_ , but it’s also great because she and her soulmate become best friends and build their relationship from there.

And Derek feels alone. Because as close as his family is and as patient as he’s capable of being, the expectation of a soulmate is really wearing on him. Laura found hers, Cora ran into hers – literally – so where is Derek’s?

He gives up on ever being able to pronounce the name right before his nineteenth birthday. At least he’ll know someday because his soulmate will tell him how to pronounce it, right? If he ever meets them. Him. Because Derek’s pretty positive it’s a him. The day he turns nineteen he enjoys his birthday and the family and the food and the overall celebration but he feels like something’s missing, something that should be there by now. He falls asleep just like he does every other night; whispering the letters that make up his soulmate’s name to himself and wondering if they ever say his name or think about him.

And it’s like being a year older flipped a switch or something. He’s always been pretty active, but now he gets random urges to fly out the door and just _run_. In what direction and to what destination he has no clue. He just knows that he has to go, because his legs are aching to take him somewhere, anywhere. So he does. He jogs daily, often multiple times, because he can. And because it helps some. He feels on edge and anxious, like something’s about to happen. He isn’t sure if it’s a good something or a bad something, but he figures he’ll find out soon.

And then it happens. It’s a perfectly normal day, and that now-normal urge to run hits him at about ten o’clock in the morning, as per usual. He goes for a run, feels increasingly more anxious and like a bundle of nerves, and is home in time for lunch. And he feels like running again in the afternoon, which is, again, normal. Until that urge increases to the point where he can’t ignore it and he _has_ to go. There’s no choice this time, no thought that if he sits on the couch or busies himself reading for long enough that it’ll go away. He doesn’t even take the time to change into the proper clothes, because he can’t. He just goes, takes off and slams the door behind him in his haste and barely has time to throw an apology over his shoulder at his startled sister – who is in the driveway washing her car – before his feet are pounding the ground and he’s half a mile away from the house.

He finds his often-used path and works his way into his usual speed, regulating his breathing and trying to distract himself with the things around him. But it doesn’t work, because he sees them every day when he goes running and nothing has changed. Except suddenly it has. Everything is the same – the path, the trees, even the freaking _flowers_. Except. Except today there’s someone else running on the path, and the instant Derek notices him it’s like everything slows down. The anxiety and the nerves and the need to run calm completely and all but disappear until he’s jogging along at a slower pace and he doesn’t feel so on edge and wound up anymore.

He noticed the other runner before the other runner noticed him, but the one-sided staring doesn’t last very long. The other runner, a guy who looks like he’s probably in his last year or two of high school, meets Derek’s eyes for half a second before veering off the path and almost careening into a tree. And Derek loses his breath and almost stumbles himself with the sudden shock and fear – because he _knows_ , and _what if_ he _gets hurt oh god please no_ – but then the other guy doesn’t hurt himself or crash into anything and somehow he’s back on the path.

Derek realizes he’s been slowing to a stop, and that seems to prompt the other guy to do the same, and then they just stand there sizing each other up. And Derek is speechless. Because he’s been playing on this path since he was little, and running along it since he could run, and he’s never seen anyone but his own family and a few close friends here. How this guy ended up here is a mystery, and Derek can’t even comprehend it at first. Then he feels like his chest is swelling and he has a little bit of a headache and he can’t help but smile a little when the guy – his soulmate, Derek’s soulmate, because that’s what he is, Derek can _feel_ it – says a quiet, “Hi.”

Derek’s breath catches in the back of his throat at that tiny, quiet word and the unsteady voice that said it, but he manages to keep his cool on the outside. He hopes. “Hi.”

His soulmate – that’s _definitely_ what he is, who he is, all of it – seals his lips shut and looks like he’s biting them, and Derek wonders why. Is he afraid of saying something? Derek suddenly gets the urge to look down at himself and make sure he doesn’t look absolutely horrible, even though he’s sure he must be a total wreck. He left the house in a hurry and didn’t even look at himself and he’s been running headlong through the _forest_ , for god’s sake, so he must look horrible . . . but before he can worry about anything else there’s a barely-there smile on his soulmate’s lips and Derek forgets everything but that, unable to keep from staring.

“Hi,” his soulmate says again. And it’s steadier this time, and a little louder, if not sort of awed. That’s good. Right? Derek thinks it’s good.

“Hi,” he repeats, wondering if it would be appropriate to laugh and just launch into conversation with this person as if they’ve known each other forever. Derek’s gaze has wandered from the stranger’s lips up to his eyes, and they stay there for a few seconds before he remembers himself and looks away. It feels like he might be blushing.

And then something occurs to him, something so exciting and unanticipated and absolutely wonderful that he can’t help but shift his weight from one foot to the other in an effort to keep from bouncing on his toes. “You got a name?” he asks, and it’s almost breathless, the way he asks, because _this is the person, his person, he just knows it_ , so he’s finally going to hear the name he’s been waiting to hear for so long. And there’s this pause, like the guy is trying to figure out exactly what Derek said, but before Derek can ask again or explain himself he gets an answer.

“Yeah. I’m Stiles.”

And Derek reels, leaning back a little and blinking. Because what? He’s seen the name on his ribs, repeated the letters over and over again, memorized it through and through. And he’s no expert or anything, but he’s pretty sure there’s no way you can take the name on his ribs and make it sound like _Stiles_.

“Oh,” he hears himself say. He chokes the word out more than says it, too shocked and confused to put on a mask of nonchalance. Because it doesn’t make sense. Everything feels right, he _knows_ that this guy is his soulmate. There’s no way he’s not. His certainty falters, but then comes back strong as ever. And that’s even more confusing. Because everything in front of him is saying that he was mistaken, that this isn’t his soulmate and he’s confused. But everything inside of him is practically boiling over with the surety that this, this is the one. The person he’s been waiting for.

And then he’s distracted momentarily. Because the stranger – his soulmate? Derek doesn’t know anymore – is hurriedly asking, “Do you? Have a name, I mean?”

Derek feels so preoccupied he almost shrugs off the question, but then he catches the morose look on the guy’s face and just wants to make him smile like he did earlier. And Derek actually does laugh then, just a little, at the absurdity of all this and the chaotic wreck of emotions inside of him right now. He almost-smiles again. “Derek.”

And then the guy scares him to death. Because his face goes white as a sheet for about three seconds, and Derek is worried about him. And then it goes back to the pale color it was before, only the guy’s cheeks are rosy and filled with a perfect blush. And then his whole face just _lights up_ and Derek flashes back to that time spent in his mom’s car so long ago, because he feels like crying. Except right now he feels like crying from relief all over again, even though none of this is resolved and he’s still confused. The other guy’s eyes are shining now, too, like he might be about to cry. And Derek wonders for a moment if they’re both just going to break down together right here in the middle of nowhere.

But they don’t. And just when Derek’s expecting the guy to say goodbye or something what he says instead is “Wait, what’s their name? Your, uh, person.”

And then Derek actually _does_ blush. Because he literally does not know what to say. He thinks about explaining himself, considers shaking his head and declining. But what he does instead is shake his head and get ahold of the hem of his shirt, and lift it up until he’s certain the guy can see the word written there, right under Derek’s heart.

And then Derek almost takes a few steps back in surprise because suddenly the stranger is shouting at him. Except his words are simultaneously the most confusing and the best thing Derek has ever heard.

“THAT’S ME! THAT’S MY NAME!”

Derek stares at him for a few seconds, glancing down at his chest once to make sure the name there hasn’t changed. It looks the same way it always has. “What?” he hears himself ask, sounding absolutely befuddled. “I thought you said your name was Stiles?”

And then the guy is talking so fast that Derek can barely keep up but somehow he does and he doesn’t catch all of it but the gist of it appears to be that _Stiles_ is just a nickname and Derek isn’t actually an idiot for not being able to pronounce the name on his chest because apparently most people can’t and even Stiles has trouble, and Derek feels so relieved and awed and all of the stress and concern from earlier has melted away into plain, unadulterated acceptance and adoration. Because he was right originally; the guy standing in front of him is his soulmate, has to be, and it all feels right.

Stiles whispers his name, _the_ name, the one on Derek’s chest, and Derek only has to hear it that one time to memorize it and lock it away forever. He’s not sure he can even get his mouth to make a noise like that, but he tries. And somehow he manages to echo what he just heard, and if there was any remaining doubt about whether this was right it’s washed away completely by the look on Stiles’ face.

Just when Derek thinks the vast range of emotions washing over him is set to slow, Stiles tugs up his own shirt to display his ribs and Derek can’t breathe for a few seconds, reading over the name there a few times. _His name_. In _his_ handwriting, printed neatly there under Stiles’ heart. He’s never been so pleased to see his name on anything in his entire life. His eyes flick up to Stiles’ face and then back down to his name on Stiles’ ribs, and then to his face again. Stiles lets go of the shirt and they kind of stare at each other like they did earlier, in that same unsure, clueless-but-still-comfortable way.

“What’s your favorite food?” Derek blurts, suddenly thinking that now is as good a time as any to ask Stiles if they can spend more time together. Hopefully immediately, though he’ll have to accept it and deal if Stiles is busy or has other things planned for his day.

“Food,” is the answer he gets. “I just like food. All the food.”

Derek can’t help the way his face splits into a grin and a laugh tumbles out of his mouth, but he’s pleased. It seems like he and Stiles will get along. “Okay,” he says slowly, planning out what he’ll say next and then throwing it away and just going for whatever comes to mind first. It’s Stiles. His soulmate. He doesn’t need to obsess over planning things so he says them right. “How about we go and get some food, then? All the food.”

This seems to be the perfect answer, because Stiles looks elated. “That is a thing we can definitely do,” he agrees, and Derek feels like his heart just grew ten times bigger because of the hopeful, happy look on Stiles’ face.

Stiles turns then, looking back the way he came, and Derek has the chance to wonder once more about how Stiles got himself out here in the first place. He’s kind of curious to find out. The image of them walking along the path side by side pops into his head, but something seems to be missing. It takes him a few seconds to figure out what. Stiles is still looking away, so Derek tentatively reaches out and brushes his hand against the younger guy’s. Stiles whips around like he’s shocked, and Derek feels a split-second of regret and fear before asking, “Can I hold your hand?” and looking away.

Stiles makes a noise so pleased and completely adoring that Derek looks up again. “God, yes,” Stiles announces, and he takes Derek’s hand right away. And it’s the most fulfilling thing, being able to hold Stiles’ hand and feel the warmth under his fingers and know that Derek will get to hold it for so long into the future. He can’t wait. Derek knows he’s smiling again, probably a little stupidly, but he can’t be bothered to care. He’s too happy right now and Stiles seems just as happy, and that’s all that matters.

He still wants to know where Stiles came from and how he got here, so Derek steps in the direction Stiles came from earlier and gives Stiles’ hand a gentle squeeze and tug, and Stiles comes willingly enough. He wants to know more about Stiles, wants to go through everything with him and be there for him and _love_ him, but he’d be happy if Stiles wanted to just walk for a while in silence. Derek has never felt so at peace with everything in his entire life.


End file.
